Gang violece and racism among high school kids is the order of the day in this juvenile delinquent film with Rita Moreno making an appearece that Pre-dates her role in "West Side Story". Also known as "This Rebel Breed".


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: crime; racism; feature films

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Dr Feel Rotten - - December 12, 2010
Subject: Tip Toe a go go
I dont have another name because it tip toes through so many different subjects. It makes some VERY incorrect assumptions and one of the many is the one drag from a marijuana cigarette will "hook you for life" or that it will make kids so sick they'll DIE!
I grew up shortly after the same era and remember rumbles and so on, but they were far more violent with a lot more hatefulness all around. When i was a kid a boy or man with hair anywhere near over his ears was cause for a beating and clearly remember one such in my own neighborhood when some yahoos from up the way came down the street and began a riot. My dad was seriously injured trying to protect some of the teenage boys even though he himself disapproved of what was going on, but he wasn't about to become violent until the clowns from up the way decided to try to hurt them. The racial divide was far worse than anything portrayed here too. My mother grew up in Detroit and remembers a entire group of black kids thrown into the Detroit river in winter by a gang of white racists and the police stood by to watch. That was in the 40's, but just as well could have been 60s as well.
I suppose Hollywood was never at liberty to show how much hate was really happening so they had to tip toe around it and sugar coat it.
Calling the movie Black Rebels is incorrect being blacks in the movie play a relatively minor role as the "Ebony's". Most of the hatred is directed at people of Mexican decent.
This is still a decent movie despite all its shortcomings and tip toeing. The end also kind of makes an implied suggestion the cop was going to marry Rita Moreno and help raise her unborn baby, but it stops just short of going there. It was probably cut out during censorship. "What? A grown police officer marrying a teenage high school girl who looks 28 yrs old?" Audiences or the censors would have crapped their breeches!

Reviewer: flickfdude - - June 12, 2009
Subject: historically very much like those days
Aside from the plot and the wildness some of the things in the movie like social clubs and parties in high school reminded me of my own high school years as I grew up just in the years after the films release.
I thought it was well done and I might have given it a 5 or 4 rating. There's a history channel show about LSD http://www.veoh.com/videos/v2589955NqGExYH?searchId=140189472456383738&rank=3
Rena Moreno and Cary Grant as well as a great many other stars in hollywood recieved LSD therapy in the 50's when it was still fairly legal

Reviewer: gmonk - - June 5, 2009
Subject: I'm with bearpuf
I watched this and had pretty much the same reaction as bearpuf's review below.

The out-of-place ultrasoftcore sexploitation scenes must have been edited in post-production to cater to a 'wider audience'.

Not a bad film, not a great film, but interesting enough to watch. It'll make you think a bit more about the time in which it was made, and the effect that attitudes had then, than it will about any current interracial issues.

Reviewer: bestpbx - - June 4, 2009
Subject: Hip Cats or Hip Replacement High School???????
The high school students all look like they are about 30 years old at least. Weren't there any real teenaged actors in those days?????

I agree with the other reviewer about the exploitation of underwear and exesive groping shots.

But, it is VERY campy and fun to watch.

Rita Moreno is very good. Dyan Cannon is in the movie, too. She was late married to of all people, CARY GRANT!!!!!!!!!

Reviewer: bearpuf - - June 4, 2009
Subject: Everyone Speak Nicely Please
Dealing with racism is lightly addressed but there are few if any racial manerisms in behavior portrayed to indicate that anyone is anything other than anglo-white, even if there is a tonal skin color difference among the characters. There's some excellent acting by Rita Moreno,and several of the support cast. Much of the plot is predictable.
During the play of the movie there appear to be half a dozen short cuts to couples doing heavy petting and making out in a room, which has nothing to do with the main plot. Though quite sexually exploitive my guess is that these diversions were to appeal to the prurient minded if the main plot didn't hold them for the moral ending. It's 3 and half stars to me but I'm opting for 4 since these things can't be sliced in half.